Open Protest On Ghana Broadcasting Corporation: Be Fair To Us As A Political Pressure Group
PROTEST STATEMENT BY THE UNITED CADRES’ FRONT
The United Cadres’ Front (UCF) of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) is making this open protest statement to you, the Director General and the Directors of Radio and Television of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation, over bias on the coverage of our activities.
Since the formation of the UCF in 2008 which went to Congress in April 2013, your outfit has almost consistently refused to cover our activities. Not even the National Delegates Congress held in Kumasi under reference was covered by the Corporation’s networks in spite of our invitation to you.
Subsequent programmes by the UCF have effectively been boycotted except a few by Radio-Ghana. We cannot recall Ghana Television (GTV) ever covering our press conferences or any other activities. This is against the Stations’ coverage of other pressure groupings – the likes of Alliance For Accountable Governance (AFAG) and many others who are sympathetic to the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
We view this selective and discriminatory posture by your Corporation’s news networks as very-very unfortunate, considering it politically motivated and hereby express our utmost disappointment at the shabby treatments so far.
To cite one such blatant discriminatory act, our Press Release to Radio-Ghana on January 23, on allegations by some NPP demonstrators that the President bribed some resident Ghanaians in Germany with amounts between 500 and 1000 Euros not to take part in their demonstration while paying others the same amounts to attend a meeting convened by the President.
The Press Release captioned “Alleged Bribery of Ghanaians Not To Partake In Anti-Government Demonstration” was treated with an undeserved contempt. An earlier one dated January 14, headed “United Cadres’ Front Blames Arsonists On Tema [Central] Medical Stores Incident” was not newsworthy to your Stations either.
We wish to state that as a state broadcaster our expectation of your station is to rise above political consideration in covering news – because the Corporation was not established with political partisan funding and, therefore, should see yourself as serving the entirety of the Ghanaian citizenry without special protocols extended to groupings like the United Cadres’ Front and other groupings.
It is our firm belief that you and your two directors may not be aware of the discrimination against the United Cadres’ Front. Notice is, therefore, hereby served that this is how we have been treated so far by your subordinate staff. We are of high expectation that something positive will emerge from this protest communication.
However, we are re-attaching the last press release for your consideration because it matters to us.
Comradely greetings,
Signed
For: General Secretary
Camillus Maalneriba-Tia Sakzeesi (Dep. Gen. Secretary)
Contact: 0266223333 or call the General Secretary Efanam Nyaku on 0242727105
